40143Bengaluru: In a bizarre turn of events, a23-year-old college student was killed and two of his friendswere injured after a man allegedly attacked them with a brokenglass bottle as they objected to his dog barking during thetense India-Australia World T20 cricket match in the city.

The incident happened when they objected to a dog, whichwas accompanied by its master, barking at a place where theyhad made arrangements to watch the match together on TV at S KGardens under J C Nagar police limits last night.

The deceased, identified as Avinash, along with hisfriends asked John Kennedy, the owner of the dog, to go awayfrom the spot stating that the barking was disturbing them,leading to an altercation.

Kennedy, who left the spot initially, returned andengaged in a scuffle with them, during which he allegedlystabbed Avinash with a broken glass bottle and also injuredtwo of his friends, police said.

Avinash died on way to the hospital.

Police said they have arrested Kennedy and investigationis on.

Thanks to Virat Kohi's brilliant unbeaten 82, Indiaregistered a sensational six wicket win over Australia andadvanced to the the World T20 semi-finals.

]]>Bengaluru: Hundreds of dead fish were washedashore today at Ulsoor lake, a popular boating site here,raising concerns about water pollution in the city.

Residents living in and around the lake were in for ashock as they found the fish heaped around, raising unbearablestink in the water body.

Several residents, who complained about the stink, saidsewage from the drain flowing into the lake due to a breach ina bund had depleted oxygen levels causing the large fish killand authorities concerned had done nothing despite complaints.

"We are not surprised...we have been warning authoritiesfrom the last two years..sewage water is getting mixed withthe lake water due to a breach in a bund..," a resident said.

A tourism spot, Ulsoor lake had been choked with waterhyacinth in recent years, with government launching clean-upefforts.

The incident comes even as there is a growing concern byenvironmentalists over polluted lakes, exemplified by thethick froth and flames from the Yamlur lake that causedripples in the city last year.

The cause for the large fish kill was not known.

]]>Bengaluru: Two days after a leopard entered a private school near Varthur in Bengaluru, another one was spotted on Tuesday around the same school.

"I have confirmation of one leopard being spotted, but people residing in the area are saying they have spotted two in and around Vibgyor school," a forest official said.

The big cat was spotted between 9.30 PM and 10 PM in the area, the official said.

The official said forest personnel will not carry out any operation at night to nab the wild beast, he said.

"It is very difficult to carry out operations at night.. Officials will launch operations in the morning to trap the wild beast," he added.

Officials are asking the residents to follow safety measures by tightly locking doors and windows of their homes and apartments, he said.

Meanwhile, the school has declared a holiday today, police said.

On February 7, a leopard had entered Vibgyor school and had injured three forest department personnel, including a veterinarian, before it was tranquilised after a day long operation.

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Bengaluru: A male leopard was on Sunday tranquilized and trapped after it quietly entered a private school in the city and injured five people, a wildlife official said.

"We got a call from Vibgyor Public School in the evening that a leopard had jumped over the compound wall and was seen on CCTV cameras passing through an empty classroom and entering a room with a mesh cover," chief wildlife warden Ravi Ralph told IANS.

As the school was closed on Sunday, barring a couple of security guards, hundreds of students and faculty were lucky to have escaped a ferocious attack by the eight-year-old leopard.

"We bolted the room in which the leopard was hiding and tranquilized it with one shot through the mesh and ferried in a cage to the Bannerghatta zoo," Ralph said.

The feline has been tranquillized after a day long operation, and the three injured persons, including a veterinarian, have been shifted to a nearby hospital, they said.

It attacked a man trying to escape by climbing a gate. As he tried to ward it off, forest officials fired shots and the animal escaped.

The feline was first spotted by CCTV cameras inside Vibgyor School at around 4:13 am. The school was shut today as it was Sunday.

School authorities immediately informed forest officials and police who rushed to the spot.

The leopard had escaped from the school premises during the day and was hiding inside nearby bushes.

As authorities were in the midst of operations to capture it, it re-entered the school building by scaling a compound wall, officials said, adding that it has now been tranquilized.

The scene of the attack was captured by television channels which had arrived at the spot to cover the operation.

Police had a hard time controlling the crowd that had gathered at the spot.

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New Delhi: The BJP on Thursday questioned Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's silence over the Tanzanian student's assault and other incidents of crime against women in non-BJP ruled states.

"It is unfortunate that Rahul Gandhi has been selective to raise his voice on such incidents only in BJP-ruled states," Bharatiya Janata Party secretary Srikant Sharma told reporters here.

"Will he (Rahul) go to Bengaluru and sit on dharna to protest against the assault of the Tanzanian student. In Muzaffarnagar, a 40-year-old women was gang-raped. A minor was raped in Tripura but Rahul remained silent, why this selective approach?" he asked.

In a case of mistaken identity, a mob assaulted Lina Martin, 21, suspecting her to be a friend of Sudanese student Mohammad Ahad, whose car fatally ran over a woman pedestrian while he driving drunk.

Sharma alleged police were inactive towards the Tanzanian student's assault and law and order has become a casualty in Congress-ruled Karnataka.

He also took a dig at Kejriwal, and said: "Why is Kejriwal silent? He didn't even need to travel to Bengaluru from Delhi as he is in Bengaluru itself."

]]>Bengaluru: Police have launched a manhunt for suspects who allegedly attacked and molested a Tanzanian woman in Bengaluru following a road accident, a top police official said.

"We have registered a case of riot and arson against the accused on victim's statement in which she reported of being assaulted in a mistaken identity by a mob on the outskirts of the city," city police commissioner N.S. Megharik told reporters here on Wednesday.

Denying reports in a section of media that the victim was also molested, Megharik said the African woman had admitted being only assaulted by a frenzied mob after her three male friends deserted her at Soladevanahalli where the car in which they were travelling was burnt.

"The incident occurred because the mob mistook the victim's car being involved in a road mishap on same night (January 31) when a 20-year-old drunken Sudanese national (Mohammed Ahad Ismai) ran over a woman fatally. We arrested him after he was rescued from a raging mob," Megharik said.

Police did not register a case soon after the road mishap and the mob attack, as the victim was not in the city for two days since Sunday.

The victim's friends told police that on Sunday the furious mob had pulled them out of their car, assaulted them and molested her in which her clothes were torn.

Meanwhile, the city-based Tanzanian youth association decided to seek its embassy's help in registering an assault case and booking the culprits.

Earlier in the day, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj described the attack as "shameful" and expressed deep pain over the Sunday incident on microblogging site Twitter.

"We are deeply pained over the shameful incident with a Tanzanian girl in Bengaluru. I spoke to the chief minister Karnataka. He informed me that a criminal case has been registered and four accused have been arrested," Sushma Swaraj tweeted.

The minister sought a report from the Karnataka government and asked Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to ensure safety of foreign students.

]]>Bengaluru: On the night of January 31, a car allegedly driven by a Sudanese student ran over a woman in Hesaraghatta, Bengaluru, killing her instantly. As per reports at the time, a mob gathered and assaulted the four Africans in the car, before handing them over to the police. But as the Deccan Chronicle now reports, the story is far uglier.

The accident occurred at 7pm in Ganapathinagar, off Hesaraghatta main road. Shabana Taj and her husband were walking along the road when a car mowed her down. The car was quickly set upon by a mob, who trashed the occupants of the vehicle and then set two cars on fire. The mob claimed the driver and the other occupants were drunk.

But as it turns out, the second car had absolutely nothing to do with the accident and only arrived on the scene half an hour later. It was being driven by one Micah S Pundugu, who was assaulted by the mob. The mob then seized a 21-year-old girl from the second car and proceed to beat and molest her, after tearing her clothes. They then forced her to parade around in her semi-naked condition.

While Bengaluru holds a coveted spot as a tier one city in India, no one from the crowd either helped the girl or stopped the events. One unidentified man, who took the courage to try and cover the girl with his t-shirt was also beaten up by the mob.

The mob then torched the second car as well, along with the passports, identification cards, phones and ATM cards of the occupants. The police, who were mute spectators to the scene, finally started a lathi charge and cleared the area around 9 pm.

According to Bosco Kaweesi, Legal Adviser, All African Students Union in Bengaluru, when the girl finally managed to reach a police station, the cops refused to register her complaint. Mr Bosco says they asked her to bring the man responsible for the accident, apparently unaware or unconcerned that the Tanzanian girl had no idea who the driver of the car was, and did not even know an accident had occurred until she reached the spot in her car.

With regards to the chaos at the scene, according to a Times of India report, the police have arrested the four African men who drove the first car after the mob handed them over. They say that they have sent blood samples to check for the presence of alcohol.

The area has witnessed a lot of tension over the presence of Africans, especially in the Acharya College, where the girl and her companions are studying. They allege the students indulge in criminal or anti-social activities. A shut down was held in Hesaraghatta over the incident.

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Bengaluru: Bengaluru police chief N.S. Megharikh on Friday said that no bomb had been found at the Cauvery junction in the centre of the city.

"Around 11 a.m. we got information that a suspicious object was found near the Cauvery junction. Police with a bomb squad and sniffer dogs rushed to the spot. No bomb or explosives found, although we have asked everyone to take precautionary measures," said Megharikh

Megharikh also said that it was a glass jar, but with no explosive material.

"Bomb squad found nothing suspicious. There was no wire connected or metal base. There is no need to panic," he added.

The area was on alert after a package was spotted and reported by some residents of the area.

The bomb disposal squad was called in and they have opened the package. The police said it had a round glass jar with some liquid that seemed to be the remains of liquor.

Policeman and sniffer dogs are still combing the area.

]]>Bengaluru: Kannada litterateur Girish Karnad on Wednesday apologised for his remarks on naming the Bengaluru international airport after city founder Kempe Gowda even as protests against him spread in Karnataka.

"I did not intend to hurt anyone. I apologise if I have hurt anyone's feelings, as I was only expressing my opinion about Tipu Sultan on his birth anniversary," Karnad told reporters here after protest demonstrations were held and rallies were taken out against him in many cities and towns across the state.

Besides the opposition BJP, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP, Bajarang Dal and other political, social and religious organisations criticised Karnad for saying on Tuesday at a function that the "airport should have been named after Tipu than Kemp Gowda, as the 18th century ruler was a apatriota and a freedom fighter".

Jnanapith award winner Karnad was addressing a gathering of about 300 people at the state's secretariat (Vidhana Soudha) here at a function the state government organised to celebrate the 265th birth anniversary of Tipu.

"As Tipu was born at Devanahalli where the new airport has been built and operating, naming it after him would have been appropriate, as he also fought against the British," Karnad said on that occasion.

The airport, about 40-km away from the city centre, was named after Kempe Gowda on December 15, 2013 on the recommendation of the previous BJP government, with the support of all political parties and social organisations.

Eldest son of Sultan Hyder Ali, Tipu (1750-1799) was also known as the "Tiger of Mysore", as he fought against the British East India Company and Hindu kingdoms in the Deccan region to protect and enlarge his kingdom.

Tipu was killed in a battle with the British army in 1799 while defending his fort at Srirangapatna near Mysore, about 120-km from Bengaluru.

Under attack for organising the Tipu function, state chief minister Siddaramaiah, however, distanced from Karnad's remarks on Kempe Gowda or Tipu and said the state government had nothing to do with the playwright's views.

"It is his (Karnad's) personal remarks. The government does not endorse them. He should not have made such remarks. It's a mistake on his part," Siddaramaiah told reporters, adding though he was present then and wanted to counter him, he did not do.

Ruling out renaming the airport, the chief minister said its name would remain after Kempe Gowda, as was decided unanimously by the state and central governments with the support of the people.

Hiriya Kempe Gowda, a feudatory ruler under the Vijayanagara empire, made Bengaluru capital of his kingdom in 1537.

"Naming the airport after Tipu would have been apt as the area where it (airport) came up was nearer to his birthplace, whereas Kempe Gowda only founded the city 478 years ago, but was not a freedom fighter," Karnad recalled.

Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) leader and former chief minister H.D. Kumaraswamy also criticised the noted writer-cum-film actor for his controversial remarks and termed them as an attempt to divide society.

Various Kannada organisations and heads of religious institutions also condemned Karnad for raking up a controversy by trying to equate Tipu with Kempe Gowda, who belonged to the dominant Vokkaliga community.

]]>Bengaluru: Incessant rain since Monday is threatening to wash out Diwali festivities in Bengaluru, and the prevailing inclement weather has left many fire-cracker sellers crestfallen.

"We are not even seeing 25 percent business compared to last year. Non-stop rain has destroyed crackers sales this year," said Raju, a farmer who has been part-time selling crackers for Diwali the past four years.

"We are at least attempting to get back the investment we made in crackers business for Diwali. I am worried whether I will get back my money I invested in this busiess," added Raju.

"Rain is a natural phenomenon, nobody is responsible for it, we can't blame anyone," said Raju, expressing his helplessness.

Gaurav Kapoor, an employee of software company SAP, who visited a crackers stall on Sarjapura road, said: "Not everyone has a car to escape rain to some extent and come and buy crackers."

"Of the 10-12 people in the shop right now, seven are our customer facilitators. Rain has ruined our business. I am not sure if I will be able to sell all the crackers I brought for selling," added Krishna Murthy, another vendor.

Murthy is hoping that there are people who keep buying and bursting crackers one or two days after Diwali. They might come to the vendors' rescue.

N. Venkatesh, another crackers vendor, feels that customers would love to come if the weather was good.

"As the climate has become cold due to incessant rain, people are not showing much interest. They are just glancing from afar and leaving," said Venkatesh. He laid cement bricks so customers do not to soil their footwear or feet in rain water and mud when they visit his shop.

Selling crackers is not the mainstream business for most vendors who sell crackers around Diwali. Almost all of them take it up right before the festival to make a quick buck.

Raju is selling crackers from the Standard brands at 75 percent discount, and other brands including Supreme, Vasantha, Popular and Tower at 90 percent discount.

A very noticeable feature of every Diwali is the sale of crackers at high double-digit discounts.

"I have just come to check out crackers here, I am still dilly-dallying whether to buy here or go to Hosur. Crackers are cheaper in Hosur than here, most of the sellers bring crackers from Hosur," said IT employee Anil Kumar.

But a few crackers sellers are also complaining against the media and holding it somewhat responsible for the lacklustre sales this year.

C. Ravinda, a crackers vendor since 1995, said: "The media is highlighting that Diwali, which comes for one day in a year, contributes to pollution, then what about all those factories across the country billowing smoke every day of the year?"

With high possibility of many cracker inventories remaining unsold, observant customers at crackers stalls have highlighted that some vendors mix last year's leftovers and sell them this year.

But Murthy, a real estate worker who also doubles up as a crackers vendor, has a different take. "We burst the leftover crackers for elections, political functions and rallies."

With one more day to go, vendors and customers are hoping for some respite from rain so they can enjoy the festival with its bright lights and flashing fireworks.

]]>Bengaluru: A top police official said here on Monday that if found guilty, they will act against those who heckled an Australian man for sporting a tattoo of a Hindu goddess on his leg.

The Australian citizen was heckled in this tech hub during the weekend by BJP activists for sporting a tattoo of Hindu goddess Yellamma on his leg, a senior police official said on Monday.

"Though the Aussie (Matthew Gordon, 21) did not file a complaint so far, we have taken the incident seriously and will act against them (activists) if found guilty," Bengaluru deputy commissioner of police Sandeep Patil told reporters here.

The heckling occurred at Konark restaurant in the city's downtown when Gordon from Melbourne was spotted with the tattoo on the shin of his left leg seated at a table along with his girl friend Emily Kassianou, 20, also from Melbourne.

"A dozen activists walked up to me and threatened to skin my leg if I did not remove the tattoo and apologise to them, as it was hurting their religious sentiments," Patil quoted Gordon telling his juniors outside the eatery later.

Police collected video footage of the incident from the restaurant's closed circuit television camera (CCTV) to examine for investigation.

"It was lunch time (2 p.m.) and we did not want to disturb other guests in the hotel. We told him (Gordon) outside that he should remove the tattoo, as it was insulting to have our goddess image on legs," activist Ramesh Yadav said.

To avoid causing inconvenience to the public, a beat constable took the activists and the Australian duo to a nearby police station to sort out the issue amicably.

"We warned Gordon that he would get into trouble if anyone sees him in public place with a goddess image on his leg and advised him to remove it for his safety," Yadav recalled.

They also lectured the Australian duo on Hindu religion and how its gods and goddesses were venerated by the people.

Incidentally, Yadav contested in the city civic election in 2010 on a BJP ticket and lost.

]]>Bengaluru: The driver and cleaner of a van were arrested on Tuesday for gang-raping a woman who they picked up in their van on October 3, police said.

Yogesh, 27, and Sunil, 23, were arrested after the 22-year-old woman lodged a police complaint on Monday that they raped her in their moving van after they offered to drop her at her paying guest house, police commissioner N.S. Megharik told reporters.

In a reminiscent of the horrific gang rape in Delhi on December 16, 2012, the woman was waiting at a bus stop with her friend on Saturday night (around 10 p.m.) when the accused stopped by and picked her up, offering to drop at her home in the upscale HSR layout.

"Though her friend dissuaded the woman not to go in the van, as it had no other passenger then, she boarded it, as she did not get a bus or auto at the odd hour and was getting late in returning home," Megharik said, recalling what the woman told police while narrating the sequence of events.

According to the police complaint, the accused took the van to a deserted spot and gang-raped her by turns and dumped her at Madiwala in the early hours of Sunday.

"The woman, who hails from Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh, later called her sister with whom she stays, and got admitted to a private hospital for treatment.

"She lodged the complaint on her sister's insistence after she got discharged from the hospital on Monday," Megharik said.

After registering the case, police launched a massive hunt for the duo and their van across the city with details from the woman, including their description and the vehicle colour and its number plate.

]]>Bengaluru: Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) - controlled city civic body BBMP has become the latest civic body to ban sale of meat within its limits on the day of Ganesha Chaturthi on September 17.

The Joint Director (Animal Husbandry) has banned slaughtering of animals and sale of meat in the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) limits on September 17, 2015 on account of Ganesha Chaturthi, BBMP said.

Asked about the ban, BBMP Commissioner G Kumar Naik said “it is a routine thing practiced on account of festivities.” The decision by BBMP in Congress-ruled Karnataka comes amidst the raging row over meat ban in several BJP-ruled states, including neighbouring Maharashtra.

Food and Civil Supplies Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao distanced the government from the decision banning sale of meat.

“BBMP has taken the decision, it is a routine thing. Government has not taken any such decision,” he said.

]]>Bengaluru: A day-long shutdown called by trade unions received a mixed response in Karnataka on Wednesday. Normal life was hit as buses and autos didn't ply and factories, banks and shops were shut.

With employees of the state-run transport corporations joining the strike, thousands of people were stranded in cities and towns across the state.

The state-run Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corp withdrew its airport service after a mob damaged a few buses by smashing their window panes with stones.

Though most three-wheeler auto-rickshaws remained off roads in Bengaluru and other cities, a few ferried commuters on main thoroughfares and suburbs -- but after charging them exorbitantly.

Hundreds of passengers arriving at the three main railway stations in the city had a harrowing time in the absence of autos and buses. Commuters complained that taxis fleeced them by charging double the fare.

As the education department did not declare a holiday for government schools and colleges till Tuesday night, confusion prevailed. Hundreds of students returned home with great difficulty. Private educational institutions remained shut.

State and central government offices reported thin attendance in the absence of buses and autos, while banks, insurance firms and post offices were closed across the state.

About one lakh blue collar employees of state-run HAL, BEL, BEML, BHEL, HMT and ITI across Bengaluru abstained from work in support of demands and in protest against the government's "anti-labour policies".

Hundreds of factories and medium-cum-small-scale units in the Peenya industrial township also were closed as their workers joined the strike.

About 25,000 members of 10 trade unions staged a massive demonstration at Town Hall here and took out protest rallies across the city.

Fifteen platoons of the State Reserve Police were deployed in the city to maintain law and order.

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Bengaluru: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) retained control of the 198-ward Bengaluru municipal corporation for a second successive term, winning 100 wards and relegating the state's ruling Congress to the second place.

The victory gladdened Prime Minister Narendra Modi who thanked the voters of India's IT capital for reposing continuous faith in his party and called it a hat-trick after similar wins in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan early this month.

"Thank you Bengaluru", Modi tweeted.

According to the state election commission, the Congress won 76 wards, Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) 14 and Independents eight.

Polling was held in 197 wards, as BJP candidate Bharati Ramachandra was declared elected unopposed earlier from Hongasandra (ward 189) after nomination of Congress candidate K. Maheshwari was rejected on August 13 for submitting a fake caste certificate.

"This is a win for the politics of development and good governance," Modi said in a series of tweets, even as counting was in progress.

Though the BJP retains the council, with a simple majority (100), it is 11 wards less than 111 it had in the 2010 election, which it had won for the first time under its own government (2008-2013).

Congress, however, gained 11 wards more than 65 it had last time, while JD-S won one less than 15 it had last time and the number of independents winning remained same - eight.

Of the 74-lakh electorate, over 36 lakh voted, registering 49.3 percent turnout, which is 5.3 percent more than 44 percent recorded in the 2010 election.

The century-old Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) was expanded in 2007 by including seven city municipal councils and a town municipal council as well as 111 surrounding villages to increase the civic wards to 198 from 100.

With 50 percent of the wards reserved for women, political parties fielded wives or women relatives of former corporators in many wards. In all, 1,120 candidates contested.

The BJP and Congress had candidates in all wards, and the JD-S in 187. A slew of regional outfits, including the AIADMK were also in the fray.

BJP president Amit Shah and union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley followed the prime minister in praising the party's success in the city civic elections.

Shah described the Bengaluru results as a "mandate against anti-poor, anti-development and negative politics of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice president Rahul Gandhi".

Jaitley said the Congress needed to draw a lesson from the results.

Wild celebrations broke out in the city with hundreds of BJP cadres, supporters and its winners taking out victory rallies in their wards, bursting fire crackers, distributing sweets and thanking the electorate.

"This is a historic win for us. We will do our best to improve the city. We are indebted to the people of Bengaluru for reposing faith in our party and rejecting the Congress, which desperately tried to postpone the election many times and attempted to trifurcate the corporation against the wishes of the citizens," jubilant former BJP deputy chief minister and the party's city unit in-charge R. Ashoka told reporters.

Beleaguered Chief Minister Siddaramaiah admitted that the results were not on expected lines as he and his party was hoping to get at least a simple majority.

"We must accept the people's mandate in a democracy. We will introspect the poll verdict though I own responsibility for the party's defeat in the BBMP elections," a crestfallen Siddaramaiah told reporters.

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New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday hailed the BJP's winning show in the Bengaluru civic polls, saying people's faith in his party "is humbling and gladdening".

"People's continuous faith in the BJP is humbling and gladdening," Modi tweeted as results showed the Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of the Congress in the election.

"The under trial, Vishwanath, succumbed to injuries he sustained during the shootout at Nimhans," Additional Police Commissioner C.H. Pratap Reddy told IANS.

In a tweet, Reddy said: "Nimhans prisoner operated upon. Despite the best efforts, he (prisoner) succumbed to the injuries sustained during commando operation."

The shootout took place around 7 p.m. at the state-run National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (Nimhans) where Vishwanath locked himself up in a room after firing about 20 rounds indiscriminately with a .303 rifle he snatched from a guard escorting him from the central jail for a check-up.

Known to be a notorious rowdy, Vishwanath was arrested in July 2012 in Bengaluru on a murder charge and lodged in the central jail on the city's outskirts since then, pending trial.

According to a witness, gun shots were heard around 3 p.m. from a patients' ward, resulting in commotion, panic and screaming by many in-patients.

As Vishwanath was being taken inside the hospital, he asked the escorting guard to allow him to go to the toilet.

Emerging out of it, he suddenly snatched the .303 SLR (self-loading rifle) with chain-belt of bullets from the guard's hand and threatened to kill him and in-patients if they tried to capture him.

Police summoned Garuda commandos of the internal security, trained to deal with such situations, to neutralise Vishwanath and take him out alive.

"The commandos cordoned off the building in which the prisoner was holed up after in-patients were shifted to other wards," Kumar said.

Being Sunday, the hospital in the southern suburb did not have many people, as out-patients are not seen on a holiday and majority of doctors had a day off.

Commissioner of Police N.S. Megharikh and ACP Reddy rushed to the hospital to supervise the operation.

]]>Bengaluru: The prestigious IndianInstitute of Science in Bangalore has been placed fifth inrankings for universities in the BRICS nations, with thelargest number of papers published per faculty member.

"Setting itself up as a worthy rival for China interms of research production, the Indian Institute of ScienceBangalore submitted ranking data for the first time this year entering the BRICS rankings in fifth place, with the largestnumber of papers published per faculty member and strongscores across other indicators," said a report in the thirdedition of the QS University rankings of BRICS countriesreleased yesterday.

India likewise has its eye on the international stage,with the government's "brain gain" policy aspiring toestablish 14 world-class universities.

According to the rankings, China has seven of the top10 places while Brazil, India and Russia have one each andSouthAfrica none.

"The 2015 results confirm that China is strengtheningitsdominant position while India has seen a rise of more than 50per cent in the number of institutions listed in the top 200in the latest rankings," said Martin Ince, convener of the QSglobal academic advisory board.

"The BRICS nations share a desire to grow in economicandpolitical importance without copying the Western model ofdevelopment. This ranking exists to see how this ambition isbeing reflected in their university systems," Ince said.

]]> Two women in Bengaluru gave a new life to each other's husband by participating in a kidney swap at a Bengaluru hospital.

The doctors at the Columbia Asia Referral Hospital successfully conducted the surgeries on June 24.

The patients, Venugopal and Bhimsain, were suffering from chronic kidney disease and required a transplant. Although their wives Savitri and Anuradha wanted to donate their organs but their blood groups did not match with their own husbands.

It was then that the doctors suggested kidney donation as Savitri's blood group matched with Bhimsain while Anuradha's blood group was fit for Venugopal.

"It is God's destiny otherwise we can't get such pair. It is only because of God's grace," said Anuradha, wife of Bhimsain.

Meanwhile, Bhimsain Joshi said his donor Savitri was like his sister and both families want to preserve their new-found relation.

"What else we need to say that Savitri is my sister and Anuradha is Venugopal's sister. Now both the families want to keep this relation preserved for life long as there is something between the two families which is a reason of their smiles," he said.

Ajit K. Huilgol, Chief Transplant Surgeon at the hospital said the incident is an apt example which clearly says there is nothing bigger than humanity.

]]>Bengaluru: A hour-long downpour followed by a burst of hailstorm in many areas on Thursday evening after a hot and humid day wreaked havoc across the city, leading to blackouts and traffic gridlocks.

Though the city meteorological office said the downpour was part of summer showers that occur this month almost every year, a weather official admitted the hailstorm in large quantity was unusual and unexpected.

"The city weather has been changing for good over the last two weeks due to various factors, including depression in the Bay of Bengal, formation of thick clouds and surface winds after temperatures rose up to 36 degrees Celsius in the first 10 days," a Met Office official told IANS.

Though the forecast for the day was cloudy sky with possibility of rain or thunderstorm, the sudden downpour followed by hailstones caught the denizens of the city unawares.

After rain subsided, water-logging in several localities affected vehicular movement and power failure snapped traffic signals, leading to snarls on many thoroughfares at peak hour.

"Power supply was affected for two-three hours across the city due to outages and tripping in many sub-stations, as demand has been exceeding and supply lagging behind in peak summer," a Bescom official admitted.